SPEECH

 

AT

 

New Hampshire

 

Fair and Non-Corrupt Governance

 

By,

 

The Honorable John G. F. Carey, MP

 

August 22, 2002

I should like to express my appreciation for your kind hospitality. I am honored by your generous warmth.

 

It is indeed a privilege and honor for me to be here with you this evening. I stand here with a sense of pride knowing that this is truly representative of what democracy is all about. The ability of a people to be able to choose their destiny and moreso the ability to have leaders who represent their concerns at the highest levels of governance.

 

We are now on the threshold of an era in which globalization is the order of the day. A time period in which small state nations like my country, the Bahamas, must compete within the framework of a Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement. This presents unique challenges. These challenges position us a nation to think outside of the box. We have to move away from traditional revenue potential to new and untried areas for our success in the 21st century.

 

Technology assistance for the Bahamas is high on our government’s agenda. In our region, the Bahamas enjoys the highest standard of living behind the United States of America and Canada. Our GDP is approximately $15,500 per capita. Our population base is a little over 303,000 and we are only half an hour by jet from Florida. We are indeed the paradise right off the coast of the United States of America.

 

Education is the key for our unlocking the door of opportunity. There are many wonderful academic institutions in this state that demonstrate how significant the rewards of being educated bring. The Caribbean continues to build on this philosophy of trying to instill in its citizens the need for higher learning and levels of education. It is no secret that education is paramount to nation building. In our region, we have institutions, which continue to work toward uplifting our people. These institutions need the support their American counterparts to elevate them to the first world through research and technology.

 

The economic well being of our people is heavily dependent on the degree to which we are able to educate our people. I believe that this state will be well served with the caliber of candidates offering for office and will be better off for it.

 

Integrity must be watchword of all who govern. Without integrity, criminality is imminent. We need the help of countries like the United State of America to build our education base so that we can be more productive as a people. We have the courage to embrace education as the foundation through which we can emulate the good that America has accomplished and follow in those successful pursuits. Access to elected officials is a critical issue in being effective at governing. I got elected as Member of Parliament in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas through politics. It is politics that will keep me there. While, my constituents expect me to be a professional and produce results, they want me to be a politician and fulfill their needs as they see it. This does not suggest nor do I intimate that politicians are to be wishy-washy or without purpose or vision and are to be poll followers for every decision. I am suggesting that the people want elected officials who reflect the majority of the views that they would like to see implemented from a policy position. This is indeed a concept if understood would most certainly guarantee re-election. For it is in understanding the electorate that we are able to govern with precise results that reflect what the governed want.

 

In the Bahamas, we have been firmly committed to democracy and continue to operate on that premise. My government has a specific mandate that states security, opportunity and prosperity for all.


Today, I am sure that you feel proud of the nation that is regarded as the democracy of democracies in the world. The People of the Bahamas are committed to many of your programs and believe in democracy. Our democratic history dates back as far as 1729. With this background, we face the future with confidence as a new generation of leaders takes over, even though there are many difficult challenges ahead.

Our confidence also derives from the knowledge that we have good friends, such as the people of New Hampshire. As we grow as a developing nation that is less than 45 minutes from the State of Florida, we will savor the lessons we have learnt here from our most powerful ally in the Western Hemisphere, the United State of America.

An endorsement of fair, non-corrupt governance with governmental access to everyone is my theme. I am a strong proponent of the democratic process through which we can develop and grow as nations.

 

There are so many people around the world who do not enjoy the rights and privileges that we enjoy in a free society. Leaders of today must be challenged to not only assume the high offices to which they aspire, but transform the lives of those whom they represent and seek to influence those who do not now enjoy this privilege we call democracy.

 

The State of New Hampshire has a rich heritage to which many Americans are able to be proud of. Indeed, we are blessed as people in the Western world to be free and to enjoy the ability to be pro-life or pro-choice. Our neighbor off the coasts of the Bahamas and Florida – Cuba is not able to say that. We have a duty as citizens of a free world to right the wrongs that have disabled so many and fight for justice, liberty and freedom for all.

 

As we move forward in the twenty-first century, the challenges of fiscal prudence, increased trade of goods and services, environmental sensitivity, anti-terrorism and racial harmony will continue to be atop many agendas. Will we be able to tell our children and our children’s children that we did the best we could?

 

Good governance leads to better nation building. As Election Day gets closer, I encourage you to strive towards good governance with greater accessibility to the citizen. For it is through the building of this relationship between the citizen and the elected official, great things are accomplished for the good of all. I thank you and God Bless you all.